Dissemination of Census 2012 results Eartha Groenfelt Manager Census Office General Bureau of Statistics Suriname CARICOM Population and Housing Census Symposium St. George’s, Grenada 27 May 2014

OVERVIEW Dissemination plan Dissemination achievements Lessons learned

Census Activities 1. Planning and preparation 2. Census cartography 3. Recruitment, training and selection 4. Data processing 5. Analysis and publication/dissemination 6. Publicity 7. Evaluation 8. Documentation

Ad 4. Dataprocessing Manual element of screening and coding of questionnaires Data entry and editing with the computer –CSPro - specifically developed for data processing through keying - possibility for discovery of data entry errors through main en verification data entry - ideal for data checks during and after data entry (data inconsistencies and other errors) - useful for production of not too complex tables for census output / publications - free software - Data processing personnel experienced

Ad 4. Data processing Production of publication tables in CSPro based on the tabulation plan Tabulation plan was mainly based on the publication tables of previous census for ease of comparability for users.

Ad 5. Analysis and publication/dissemination Analysis of basic census data (in terms of accuracy) Production of preliminary figures Evaluation of census data through comparison with administrative sources (# births, nationals, gov. employees, # old age pensioners 60+, # hhs with electricity from power company etc.) Further review of data and tables w.r.t. consistency in numbers, plausibility of figures Production of final figures in various census publications

Dissemination plan Based on Previous census dissemination speed requirements for further improvement of speed from from IADB (finances the loan of Census & HBS program) Later adjusted, because of request/demand from Government to increase speed of production even further

Dissemination targets were set in the project plan for: Time required for data processing Time required between census taking and data dissemination Access to anonymized micro data online through REDATAM Number of census-related hard copy publications disseminated

Project plan Census and HBS program: Dissemination IndicatorUnit of measure- ment BaselineTargetsMethod of Verification/ Source Comments ValueYearValueYear Expected Outcome: Statistical information produced and disseminated in a timely manner. Time required for data processing Months PEU reportThis is for data entry of census information. Time required between census taking and data dissemination Months13 to to PEU reportThis is measured from the date on which enumeration commences until the dates when the publication of official results commences and ends. This includes the time for data entry and processing. Expected Outcome: Statistical information made more accessible to users. Anonymized micro data accessible online through REDATAM REDATA M software Online databaseTrained GBS staff will configure REDATAM and produce REDATAM database. Number of census- related hard copy publications disseminated Number of copies 1, , National Results Vol. 1(Demographic & Social Characteristics)through Vol. 4 (Living Quarters, Households and Families, District Results Vol. 1 through Vol 5 (2 districts per publication), Technical Evaluation Report

Dissemination targets achieved 2004 Census2012 Census Nr of principle questions45Nr of principle questions108 Census dayAug 2, 2004Census dayAug 13, 2012 Preliminary resultsJan 2005Preliminary resultsJan 2013 Volume I: Demografic and Social CharacteristicsAug 2005 Volume I: Demografic and Social Characteristics & MigrationSept 2013 Volume II: Employment and Education CharacteristicsNov 2005 Volume II: Employment, Education and transportation; Dec 2013 (revised in Jan 2014) Volume III: Fertility and MortalityFeb 2006Fertility and Mortality Volume IV: Households, families and dwellingsJun 2006 Volume III: Huisholds, dwellings & families; Environment; CrimeJan 2014 District publications: Vol 1: ParamariboJune 2006Vol 1: Paramaribo and Wanica (Urban)March 2014 Vol 2: Wanica and ParaJuly 2006 Vol 2: Para, Nickerie, Coronie, Commewijne and Saramacca (Rural)April 2014 Vol 3: Nickerie and CoronieAug 2006 Vol 4: Commewijne and SaramaccaSept 2006 Vol 5: Marowijne, Brokopondo and SipaliwiniOctober 2006 Vol 3: Marowijne, Brokopondo and Sipaliwini (Interior)May 2014

Targets achieved Data processing achieved 10 months after census day. (target 10 months) Data dissemination of all national and sub-national publications achieved 22 months. (target 25 months) Still to do: - Population projections in June Evaluation publication in July Data dissemination through Redatam

Speed of dissemination is highly dependent on the speed with which the census data processing and census database is finalized. Issue of manpower, capability, drive and tenacity, esp. of data processing staff For publications: key persons to closely scrutinize the tables for errors that might have occurred during lay-out stages of publication (mixing up sub regional level tables, errors when merging categories and adding up values) Lessons learned:

Small (sub)populations: suppressing or combining categories requires additional time when planning for release of data Next census round: handheld computers? Because of greater demand for quick results: need for faster data capture and editing; would mean less time spent on processing and quicker production of tables/output. Lessons learned:

Thank you!